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microenvironment

[ mahy-kroh-en-vahy-ern-muhnt, -vahy-ruhn- ]
/ ˌmaɪ kroʊ ɛnˈvaɪ ərn mənt, -ˈvaɪ rən- /
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noun
the environment of a small area or of a particular organism; microhabitat.
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Origin of microenvironment

First recorded in 1950–55; micro- + environment

OTHER WORDS FROM microenvironment

mi·cro·en·vi·ron·men·tal [mahy-kroh-en-vahy-ern-men-tl, -vahy-ruhn-], /ˌmaɪ kroʊ ɛnˌvaɪ ərnˈmɛn tl, -ˌvaɪ rən-/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use microenvironment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for microenvironment

microenvironment
/ (ˈmaɪkrəʊɪnˌvaɪrənmənt) /

noun
ecology the environment of a small area, such as that around a leaf or plant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for microenvironment

microenvironment
[ mī′krō-ĕn-vīrən-mənt ]

The environment of a very small, specific area, distinguished from its immediate surroundings by such factors as the amount of incident light, the degree of moisture, and the range of temperatures. The side of a tree that is shaded from sunlight is a microenvironment that typically supports a somewhat different community of organisms than is found on the side that receives regular light. Also called microhabitat
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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